Mail Call (even number chapters)
by MarenMary93
Summary: Answer to a fic prompt that turned into a round robin of sorts. A G.I. Jack and Mac piece of fluff. In collaboration with Gib (she was the one to get the prompt)
1. Chapter 2

**Hello darlings! Yeah, so… This is the second part/chapter in the collaboration I have going with the wonderful Gib! She's amazing and I got really excited when she asked me to take part in this.**

 **If you haven't read the first chapter of her "Mail Call (odd number chapters)" You should definitely do that first, before starting this one.  
She wrote the odd numbered chapters, I took the even numbered ones. And it probably won't make too much sense if you read it in the wrong order. **

**Okay, hope you enjoy!**

Mac watched intently as Box pulled up his knife and cut the tape of the box.

"Wanna take bets on what it is?" the stocky Texan asked as he slid his thumb between the flaps of the cardboard box.

"Jerky." Coop grinned, "Has to be!"

"Nah… That's too easy!" Jack drawled, "He always gets that, guess of something else inside the package!"

"Your mom probably sent him some dried fruits too…" Cooper shrugged.

"Dude, what is it with you and dried stuff man?" Duncan raised one eyebrow in Boxer's direction.

"It tastes good, has good consistency and it doesn't go bad…" Boxer shrugged. "I seriously hope there's papaya in here!"

"Any other guesses? And dried foods are not guesses!" Jack looked around the circle.

"Toothpaste, the kind you like better than whatever we can get around here…" Pete shrugged, "Is that a valid guess?"

"Guess it is!" Boxer shrugged, and opened the box.

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The first thing that met him was a letter. Caroline Dalton's neat handwriting on the envelope.

'To my dear 3rd son'

"Got a letter!" he held it up, "Read it after we know what's inside here…"

The guys nodded, as Boxer placed it on his thigh.

"You get any Jerky?"

"Of course I got Jerky!" Boxer grinned widely and held up a few brand packs, "I got… Regular beef jerky. Spicy Turkey. And…" Boxer turned the last of the packs, "Elk. Looks like there are a few 'home made' kinds too, bought down at some market or something… That can be fun…"

He shoved the hand wrapped packs of jerky around inside the box, not really caring about inspecting them in detail just yet. It was some kind of jerky, chances were he would like it either way.

"Cool…" Cooper shrugged, "What else?!"

"Dried fruits, you guessed right. Toothpaste and blue life savers!" Box shrugged, "Some other candies, Pringles and a few pictures of home…"

"What's the pictures of?"

"The regular… His folks, my folks, friends…" Boxer narrated as he flipped through the photos, "Their dog chasing its tail, a picture of the last time Nick visited home…"

Boxer chuckled, "You guys are still looking exactly like each other… Well, you might have a bit more of a tan than him…"

Jack grinned. "Identical twins, what did you expect?"

Box shrugged.

"Did Ma offer some encouraging words?" Jack pointed towards the letter.

Boxer placed the box and the contents back on the ground, and picked up the letter. He cleared his throat, "To my dear 3rd son…"

"One step closer to being adopted!" Pete butted in, "Looks like your plan is working!"

It was no secret that Boxer would have Caroline adopt him, if it was possible.

"Nah… He's been her 3rd son since the early 70's…" Jack chuckled, "Right around the time we started playing together…"

Box nodded, "And you and Nick quickly became my mama's boys too…"

He fixed his old buddy with a stare, "She damn near had a heart attack that time you got thrown by that mean old bronc down in Houston…"

Jack cringed, "Yeah, well… That hurt…"

Duncan looked up at Jack expectantly, "What?"

"Wyatt here is a real cowboy…" Boxer grinned, "Won himself a couple of buckles in his time, but like every other cowboy he's been thrown around and tossed a lot… Even stomped on a few occasions…"

"Yippee ki-ay!" Cooper laughed, "You still ride?"

Jack shook his head, "Nah… Screwed up my shoulder about a little while before you three young'uns joined us… Just never got back to it after that…"

"-But you still know how?"

Boxer laughed, louder and harder than necessary. "Judging by the last time we got drunk back home, he still does. Just not for a full 8 seconds at a time!"

"I blame the tequila…" Jack grimaced at the memory, "I also blame it for the fact that I did not stop after the first time I got thrown. Man… Those bruises…"

"Shut up about your old adventures already! I wanna know what Ma Dalton wrote!" Duncan shot in.

"Alright…" Boxer grinned, clearing his throat and leaning back in his seat, ready to read for them.

 _Dear Boxer_

 _Well, it's almost June when I write you this letter. The sky is that beautiful shade of blue, the way I think it only gets here in Texas, you know the color… Everything is the same old same back here. As always, quiet without the two of you…  
You guys have any idea of when y'all are comin' home next time? Thinking about throwing a BBQ. –And since I already know you will probably read this for the whole group, all of y'all are invited. We've got room for everybody!  
Don't tell Jack this but…_

Boxer fell silent, as he read the next couple of lines, a wide grin spreading across his face, as the other Texan tried to grab the letter out of his hands.

"What?"

"You'll know once you open Mama's box…" Box grinned, "She knows we go 'round in circles, and that you'd probably open Senior's gift first…"

"Come on!" Jack growled impatient, "You're makin' me curious!"

"Too bad, you'll figure it out when it's your turn!" Boxer grinned. Before he continued reading aloud.

 _-They finally painted over the water tower. Well, painted over might be the wrong thing to say. They gave it a new coat of paint, that's what they did… It still has the high school colors. I bet that my little hell raiser is grinning like a fool right now…_

All of the guys looked up at Jack, and his mother was right. There was a giant smile on his face. Proud and a little wicked, like he was saying 'damn straight, I earned that label!'

 _Spoke with your uncle the other day, they're doing good. Your cousin's daughter has started cheering, your uncle showed me a picture. She's adorable in her outfit. She's gonna need her 'uncles' to look after her when she turns older… -So don't go ahead and do something stupid, you hear?  
Sending lots of love, and a bit of snack for you.  
\- Caroline_

"What wasn't Jack supposed to know yet?" Cooper inquired, stretching in an effort to see the letter.

"You'll know once Jack opens the gift from Caroline…" that same Cheshire grin as earlier spreading across his lips. "Okay, that was pretty much it… Pete, Coop, figure out who's next!"

Pete looked at Cooper, "Heads or tails?"

"Tails…"

 **Okay, now… I don't know when the 3** **rd** **chapter will be up. But you'll find it in "Mail Call (odd number chapters)" by Gib.**

 **Until next time: Have a good day!**

 **(Also, I would like to apologize if there are any glaring errors in this one. Haven't really given anybody the chance to proof-read this chapter…)**


	2. Chapter 4

**Okay, first of all I'd like to thank Dlwells51 for reading through this and noticing my errors. THANK YOU!**

 **And Gib for this opportunity to write with her. It has been incredibly fun!**

 **"CHAPTER 4"**

"What are you waiting for big guy?" Duncan asked as he slapped the back of his hand against Cooper's knee. "We wanna see what you got!"

Cooper grinned, placing the box on his lap as he reached for his knife. "You don't wanna take bets?"

Jack shrugged, "No telling what's in there…"

"At least it's not from Grandma T." Pete chuckled, casting a glance towards the door.

Cooper frowned, and nodded. "I know I should tell Grandma Tordis what happens with the stuff she sends me, but…"

Cooper paused, his brows creeping closer together before he ran his left hand down his face, "-I can't… She's too sweet…"

A few of the guys chuckled. Jack leaned forward, "Coop, no offense… But you're too big, even that giant soft heart of yours…"

"Hey, I bet you wouldn't be able to tell her either if you met her…" Cooper shot back in a light hearted tone.

Jack shrugged.

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The knife sliced open the brown packing tape. Six pairs of eyes were trained on the cardboard box.

Mac watched as a big grin spread across Cooper's face and the big man literally giggled.

"Damn, mom's the BEST!" he declared looking up at the other guys.

"WHAT IS IT?" Duncan pushed impatiently, almost getting to his feet to have a look inside the box (which would have been against the 'mail call rules' they had set up).

Cooper grabbed some of the contents inside and held up his hand.

"Lollipops!" he grinned, "Lots of 'em!"

Boxer chortled, "You're a bigger sweet-tooth than old Wyatt over there!"

Coop shrugged as he unwrapped one of the strawberry flavored lollipops and put it in his mouth. He chuckled and started sorting through the contents.

A few seconds later he decided to just pile the lollipops on top of his letters on the floor. It was a real rainbow of colors.

"This is happiness…" Cooper declared as he placed the third handful of lollipops on top of the letters. "Oooh! I got chewing gum too!"

From Mac's point of view, the other blond Californian might as well have been 8 years old. (A very over-sized 8 year old…)

"Okay, other than stuff to make you shut up for a little while, what's in there?" Jack craned his neck, trying to catch a glimpse.

"Baker's Harvest Graham crackers!" Cooper smiled. He still had the lollipop trapped in one of his cheeks, causing it to stretch over the round bump. "Cinnamon kind!"

"Is there anything that isn't edible in that package?"

Coop frowned, and held up a tube of something.

"Sunscreen?" Box squinted in an attempt to get a better look at the tube, "That's useful, you know… No need to sulk…"

"I'm not sulking…" Cooper met Box's eyes, "But mom sent the zinc-sunscreen. If I wear this here, I'm basically painting a target on myself. This shit stands out like crazy!"

"Put some on!" Duncan pressed, but Coop just shook his head.

"No, there's more than enough sunscreen already in this sandy playground. I'll just use the stuff we get here. Sure, it's sticky, tastes utterly horrible if you get it on your lips or inside your mouth and stings like the 7th circle of hell if you happen to get it in a cut or in your eyes… -I'll rather use that than this…"

Mac chuckled, he had the same experience with the army issued sunscreen, but he guessed it was better than looking like frosty the snowman. –Or getting sunburnt.

"That's it?" Pete asked.

Cooper shook his head, "Energy bars and a letter! But that's it!"

"So that's how they managed to get you that big,sugar and snack bars? It all makes sense now…" Pete chuckled as he crossed his legs in front of him.

"Aw, you're just jealous cause you probably need help reaching the highest shelf in the cupboards!" Cooper bit back in a playful tone.

"Nah… I reach them just fine…" Pete rolled his eyes, "I'm about a foot shorter than you, but I'm not a midget you big Redwood!"

Cooper chuckled, "Okay, okay… Short stuff…"

"Can't be easy for you, I mean… Do you even get enough oxygen up there?"

Cooper removed the lollipop from his mouth and pointed it towards Pete, he tried to hold a serious expression but failed just before he was about to speak. Joyful laughter rolled off of him before he looked up at Pete again, a big bright grin across his lips. "You definitely win this round…"

Pete beamed triumphantly.

"But, what does the letter say?" Jack nodded towards the letter peaking out of the cardboard box.

Cooper shrugged and picked it out of the box. He used his knife to open the envelope and lifted the folded letter out.

"You ready?"

The men leaned forward, resting their elbows on their knees. Every bit of contact with the outside world was something that could potentially brighten up their days.

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 _Dear Cooper_

 _How are you? I hope you're doing well, and that you'll be safely home with us soon. I saw something on the news yesterday, something in Kabul… I hope you're safe. (Safe is a weird word to use in this context, I get it…) But I hope you are in good health and that the rest of your team is as well._

"Awww, she cares about us…" Duncan grinned, causing the rest of the guys to laugh. Cooper included.

 _Pappa is still his stubborn old self, but he misses you too. Even though he doesn't say it aloud. I know by all the time he spends in the garage, and all the wooden figurines that suddenly show up after a while…_

Cooper laughed, "Pappa is really into woodcarving… And he does it a lot when he's stressed or worried…"

Boxer nodded like he understood.

They were all used to Cooper calling his parents 'Mamma' and 'Pappa' (instead of mom and dad, or ma and pa) while he was reading the letters from home. It was what he had called them while he grew up, and it was what his mom referred to herself and her husband as in her letters.

 _I met Tom the other day, he asked about you… What you're doing now. –I told him you still stayed with the army. He asked where you were… I just said the last place I heard was Afghanistan, couldn't remember the area. He asked if you were coming home soon… I said you seldom let me know when, that your group has a 'thing' about that._

Jack nodded from where he sat, "Bad mojo to let'em know you're comin home…"

"Heck Wyatt, for you it's bad mojo just knowing you're goin home!" Boxer chuckled, "In school too, my bet is that you have some sort of allergy to time off!"

Jack glared at Boxer, "Not my fault…"

"Tryin' to jump off the school roof, your fault. Tryin' to climb that oak in the schoolyard, your fault. Being tackled by Jimmy Dover… Well, that's not really your fault, it was a football game. But the guy had 70 pounds on ya, easy…"

Cooper chuckled as Jack flipped Boxer off.

"What more did she write?"

Cooper leaned forward and continued reading the letter for them.

 _We finally figured out what was up with Tricky, she just had three puppies. They are adorable. They are definitely a mix of something, it's too hard to tell what yet… (Well, except for the Border Collie part) We thought about keeping one of them, most likely the one on the right in the photo._

Cooper held open the envelope, and found a picture he had missed. It was just a home print-out on regular paper. Easy to miss in an envelope.

"Awww, now I can't wait to get back home!" Cooper sighed looking at the picture of the three puppies. The one on the right was tricolor black, white and brown. "Look at that!"

He sent the photo around the circle, and the guys had to agree that it was some cute puppies.

 _It's a boy, we're thinking about calling him Dot or Rascal, unless you've got any better ideas.  
Oh, I almost forgot to mention, Pappa has decided to run a marathon, he's working out a lot. Jokes about that he should be able to outrun you soon. I hope you can prove him wrong the next time you're here… It would brighten my day to watch him eat his words…_

"How old is your dad?" Pete interrupted.

"Pappa was born in '46…" Coop shrugged, "Don't make me figure out how old that makes him…"

"Just a bit younger than my dad then…" Jack nodded.

"Damn Cooper, your dad and Jack's dad are basically the same age!" Duncan chuckled, "Either Jack Sr. was really early or your dad was really late…"

"Yeah, so…" Cooper shrugged, then he pointed at Jack and Boxer "Those two and Charlie were born in the same year…"

That made Duncan sit back and scratch his neck. He had totally forgotten about the age gap between Cooper and his older brother. "How many years was there between the two of you?"

"15 years…" Cooper shrugged, "My uncle used to joke about Charlie being more than enough for my mamma and pappa to handle… Until suddenly I came along…"

Boxer chuckled, "Trust me, we heard about you every time we got mail for years! Basically until you enlisted yourself."

Cooper blushed and looked down at the letter again. "Okay, well… Let's finish this letter before this gets more embarrassing, okay…"

He was pretty sure Jack and Boxer had heard some of the most embarrassing things he had done in his childhood. He didn't need for the whole team to know those stories. He cleared his voice and continued reading for the group, but there wasn't much left of the letter for him to read.

 _Hope you're all doing fine over there.  
And remember: Mamma og pappa er glad i deg, lillegutt!_

"What was that last thing she wrote?" Jack looked at Cooper, he recognized the sound of the language, and he didn't really need to be a linguist to figure out it was Norwegian. He knew Cooper's family came from Norway, but that they had moved to California before Cooper was born.

"Norwegian. Basically says: Mom and dad loves you, kiddo…" Cooper grinned, he didn't need for the rest of the men to know that his mom's nickname for him translated to 'little boy', they didn't need that info for when they teased him for his height.

Jack smiled.

"Dunc, you're up buddy!" Cooper grinned and slapped him on his thigh. "Show us what you've got!"

 **So, I hope y'all are enjoying this as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

 **And sorry if it confused you that I mixed in a little Norwegian in the mix. –I just had to… I couldn't help myself.**


	3. Chapter 6

**Throwing out a big thank you to Dlwells51 for reading through this and correcting it. That's very nice of you!**

 **And to Gib for letting me write these parts!**

Jack frowned as he opened up the package from his mom. The first thing he saw was a 3-pack of disposable razors. 'Please use these' scribbled with a sharpie on the cardboard at the back of them.

"What'cha get?"

Jack looked up at Boxer with a less than amused expression. He lifted the razors up enough for the rest of the team to see.

"Guess Ma didn't like this…" he shrugged as he ran his other hand through his beard.

"So, you're gonna get rid of it?" Pete furrowed his brows looking at Jack.

"Nah…" Jack laughed, "Not until before I'm shipping home…"

Mac looked around the group, he was the only one who didn't have any kind of beard. He figured it was a spec ops thing, maybe he would have to grow one if he stayed with the group.

"Shouldn't have sent that Polaroid of you home to her…" Boxer laughed, "Sorry!"

Jack chuckled and nodded, "I'll just borrow Pete's camera and send a picture of you… You will definitely get razors then too…"

"What? No…" Boxer chuckled, "I look better with a beard than you…"

"Only in your wildest dreams, Box…" Jack laughed, "Only in your wildest dreams."

Boxer feigned hurt, "You telling me I'm not prettier than you?"

"I'm telling you that you look exactly like what a boxer should. Your name is VERY fitting." Jack laughed, knowing his friend wouldn't be insulted by his honesty, "You've been in a few too many fist fights, and you never were a master of keeping your guard up!"

Boxer frowned and reached for his nose, "A few of those really hurt Wyatt…"

"Getting punched in the schnoz hurts, that's why you keep your guard up…" Jack drawled.

"I'd say it's to keep from getting knocked out…" Pete shot in.

"And that's the thing he obviously doesn't understand…" Boxer said pointing at Jack, "Think he has the state record of most concussions back home…"

Jack chuckled waving off Boxer's comment, "Okay, I might have gotten my bell rung a few times…"

Box nodded.

"-But that has mostly been from other stuff, not from fighting…" Jack was quick to add.

Boxer shrugged, "Well, a concussion is still a concussion…"

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"Other than razors, what did she send?" Coop nodded towards the brown cardboard box.

"The usual letter…" Jack took it up and used his knife to open the envelope. He looked over the writing before handing it to Boxer. "Here, read it for us…"

"Why don't you read it yourself?" Mac asked with a puzzled expression.

"Now, baby brother…" Cooper grinned, leaning towards Mac like he was about to share a secret. But he didn't keep his voice particularly low. "Last time Jack read anything out loud, a few of the more proficient readers were about to twist his neck off at the end of the letter."

Mac looked up to see a red tint take on Jack's features as the older man returned his attention to the box's contents.

"You can't read?" the words were out of Mac's mouth before he had the chance to stop them.

Jack's head snapped up, a cheeky grin forced on his face. "Now, kid… That wasn't what _Too Tall_ over there said…" He shook his head, "I just read slow. And it's boring for these other guys to listen to. Easier just handing the task over to Box here…"

Mac pursed his lips and nodded. He wanted to say sorry, but somehow it felt like that would only make the whole thing more embarrassing. "Okay, copy that."

Jack nodded.

"Knowing how slow you read, it's weird that you take a few seconds to read it before handing it over…" Pete shrugged. He said it in a tone that made it impossible for Jack's temper to rise.

"Oh, I'm not reading through it!" Jack clarified, "Ma just highlights things if there is anything not for everyone's eyes… No yellow marker on that letter…"

Boxer chuckled. Jack could read. Sometimes he even did it voluntarily, like if you handed him a book on old WW2 operations, something from the Vietnam war or anything like that, the Texan would be glued to the book for hours at a time. It would go slow, but Jack would finish the book. That being said, Jack would never pick up a novel and read just for pleasure, that just wasn't for him. He could read, but it was an effort. It went slow and demanded a lot of both patience and concentration, neither being the man's strong suits. And it was even worse when he was forced to read for others. Boxer remembered their time in school, where Jack had been scolded by their teachers many times for reading so poorly (and not doing his homework, but that was something else).

"Y'all want me to read this or not?" Boxer shot in when he sensed Jack needed the focus drawn away from him and his reading skills.

"Go ahead!" Duncan nodded.

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 _Dear Jack_

 _I guess Boxer already read his letter for you guys… And I guess you're really excited by now… I'll keep the suspense going for a little while longer._

Boxer laughed, he already knew the secret.

"AW! Come on! Just skip to the exciting part!" Jack almost cried out.

Boxer shook his head, "No, you had the chance to read in on your own! I'm reading this from top to bottom!"

Jack frowned and tossed a piece of cardboard towards Box.

 _Pa is keepin' himself busy with the farm, he just started fixing up the front porch. So in a little while there will be no more squeaky floor boards there. And we're painting the living room. Same color, but it needed a new coat._

 _All of your sisters, and Nick, are doing fine. And here's the exciting news Boxer couldn't tell you about:_

 _1) Christine got engaged._

Jack smiled and nodded at the piece of information. "Good for her! Paul better treat her right…"

Boxer chuckled, vivid memories of putting the fear of God into one of Jack's sister's boyfriend back in the day danced across his mind. "Yeah, he better…"

 _2) Rita is having a baby!_

Boxer stopped reading and looked over at his old friend. He wasn't surprised to see the big smile on Jack's face, nor the moisture in his eyes as the man slowly understood what he had just heard.

"I'm gonna be an uncle?" Jack grinned, "Rita's having a kid?"

Boxer nodded, "Yep, you're goin' to be an uncle. –Again…"

Jack let out a whoop of joy, "She's going to be the best mother!"

"You said that the last time when Missy got preggo…" Boxer chuckled.

"Because it's true!" Jack shot back, pointing a finger at Boxer, "And you know it!"

Boxer smiled, "Yeah… I know it… All of your sisters would make great mothers…"

"I'm gonna be an uncle…" Jack repeated once again, a proud smile capturing his lips.

"Congratulations!" Pete grinned. Coop, Dunc and Mac joined in shortly after.

"Does it say anything else?" Jack wondered after he was done with his little tirade of joy and pride.

"Says she's proud of us… And that she can't wait to have us back home! And she sends her love!"

Jack smiled.

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Jack still had a smile on his face as he plucked out a stack of photos from his box. He thumbed through the pictures, before handing them around. He grinned, "Rita has even started to show!"

Cooper was the first one to get the pictures in his hands. He recognized the girl from other pictures he had seen. She bore resemblance of Jack's mother, she had a lighter color hair than Jack. But he knew she had the same dark brown eyes.

She wore a white dress with roses printed on it. She had her hands put together under her growing belly. Her dress flattened over the bump, showing it off.

He nodded and handed the pictures over to the next one in the circle. He figured it could be dangerous to comment on her good looks, so he settled for something he thought would be safe, "Suits her…"

Jack nodded proudly.

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The rest of the space in the box was filled with snacks. Salty potato chips, skittles, twizzlers, gummi worms and Pop Rocks.

He held up a can of Pringles, "Ma sure knows what to send! Salt… Just what an active soldier needs around here…"

He took the pictures and the letter as Box handed them to him, then he looked around the group. "Well, guess it's Box's turn now. I'm done with this one!"

 **You'll find the next chapter at Gib's "Mail Call (odd number chapters)" in a little while I guess.  
(Might take me a while to get the next chapter up. I'm a little busy with living RL right now. Enjoying it very much!)**


	4. Chapter 8

**Hello friends. Sorry this took a while, I've been very busy with some RL stuff. –And my internet connection has been lacking the last week or so…  
Sorry, I'm not Wonder Woman… -never claimed to be her either.**

 **By this point, I just assume you've read Gib's 7** **th** **chapter of this story. If not, head on over and read it.**

 **Also, posted this without showing it to Gib or Dlwells51.  
-Sorry guys. Felt like everybody had waited long enough for me now… **

**CHAPTER 8**

"Got one…" Pete nodded and held up the soft package he hadn't opened earlier. "It's from my aunt, there's bound to be a book in here somewhere!" he grinned.

"Doesn't look that way…" Coop shrugged, that's a soft gift, "I bet it's some clothes or something…"

"Has a hard core though…" Pete informed as he gave the package a gentle squeeze. "And aunt Gioia was the one to get me hooked on books in the first place."

"Well, what are you waiting for? We want to know what's inside!" Jack moaned.

"No, you just want to know who has to open Coop's second package…" Duncan corrected their leader, an accusing finger pointed towards the Texan.

"The one outside?" Mac asked, all of the guys nodded. Their faces grimmer than he had seen them before.

"I say baby brother over here gets a free pass on this one. It's his first time…" Cooper sat back in his seat, the way he had pitched the idea left little room for discussion.

"Alright…" Jack nodded, "Guess that's fair… But come on now Pete… I want to see who has to open up the last package…"

"Alright, alright…" Pete nodded and ripped open the tape holding the all brown packing paper together. "Let's see what's inside here…"

He pulled out some rolled up fabric, he held it in his hand and looked at it. He placed it in his lap and unfolded it a bit. A smile spread across his face as he realized what it was.

"What are you grinnin' like a fool for now" Jack drawled, trying to see what Pete had received from his aunt.

"Yankees T-shirt!" Pete grinned and held it up, and just like he had guessed, a book fell out from inside the roll. "Ooh! And Jack Reacher!"

Jack looked up, mild confusion spread across his face. "Jack Reacher?"

"Yeah, it's a book series by Lee Child. I've only read the five first ones, last one was a thrill ride…" Pete stretched out to pick up the book, "I mean, every book has been a thrill ride. I can't pick a favorite out of them, they're impossible to put down."

"Well, looking at the thickness of that book, I'd say it's impossible to get through it…"

Pete shook his head, "It's only five or six hundred pages or so…"

"Like I said, impossible…" Jack shrugged.

Pete smirked and flipped the book open, a letter fell out, "Nah, I'll be done with this too soon…"

Jack rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I don't get it…"

Pete turned the book over and read the backside. "Man, I feel sorry for you. I don't know what I'd do without books, especially here."

"I get by just fine…" Jack shrugged, "It's never really been a thing for me. Would be weird if I suddenly found interest in it now."

"Okay…" Pete shrugged and nodded at the same time, then he picked up the letter. He opened the envelope with his knife and pulled out the handwritten letter. He quickly read through the letter, it took him less than a full minute. "I'm not gonna read this aloud. Aunt Gioia keeps switching between Italian and English… There's like one paragraph in English, one Italian, another Italian one, three English ones… Another Italian…"

"Not even my parents does that…" Coop mused, eyebrows drawn close together. "Really didn't think people had that problem… I thought people just struggled with spelling when they had problems with a language. Or pronunciation…"

"It's not a problem…" Pete shrugged, "She just switches over to Italian whenever she gets worked up on a subject. She does that in real life too… Reading her letters, it feels like home…"

Duncan smiled, angling his head to look up at Pete. "Okay, now that that's out of the way… Pete, you've got some cards laying around?"

"Low card has to open it…" Pete informed as he shuffled the cards against his knees, before placing the stack in the middle of the circle. "Pick any card you'd like, just don't look at it…"

The five guys looked at the stack of cards like it was some of the most intimidating stuff they had seen. Like life depended on what card they chose. Mac just watched.

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Duncan was the first to pick a card. "Aww, hell… Might as well go ahead…" he mumbled as he leaned forward, he lifted about half of the stack and picked a random card in the middle. Placed the top part of the stack back and sat back against his chair.

Boxer and Jack looked at each other. Jack's eyes darted silently back and forth between Boxer's and the cards. Boxer's eyes were dead locked on Jack. "I dare ya…"

In a blur of motion, both of the oldest team members catapulted out of their seats and came down next to the cards. There were some mild name calling as the two shoved each other to get the card they both wanted.

Cooper ran a big hand over his face and sighed, then he chuckled when he caught sight of Mac with his mouth hanging agape. "Don't worry, this is what happens every time… They both want the card on the bottom. Some old, pre-dinosaur, habit they can't shake. Guess it started when they were in first grade or something…"

Mac couldn't help but laugh, he wasn't sure whether it was because of Cooper's explanation, or the triumphant shout from Boxer, or the way Jack slammed his hand onto the ground. Maybe the mix of it all?

Jack blew a hard breath out through his nose then he picked the card on top of the stack with a pout.

Pete chuckled and knelt down and picked a card from somewhere inside the stack.

Cooper looked at the stack for a few seconds. He was the last one to pick a card. His chances weren't worse than for the other guys, not really, but it felt scarier.

He drew a deep breath and leaned forward. Reached out, parted the stack the same way Duncan had, left the top stack side by side with the bottom one, and picked up the top card from the first one. He didn't look down at the card as he pulled it up to rest on his thigh.

"All at once, or one at a time?" Pete asked, looking around the circle. His eyes were crinkling with a smile, like he had everything under control and knew it.

"Let's keep the suspense for a little while longer…" Duncan shrugged, "One at a time, reverse order from when we picked our cards…"

Pete nodded. Nobody was against it.

"Coop…"

Cooper swallowed hard, he held his card back-side up with the fingers of his left hand and bit his lip. Sending a silent prayer for a high card. He flipped it.

 _7 of hearts._ Not good, not bad. Chances were, he wouldn't be the lowest card.

He didn't grin, didn't laugh, just nodded to himself before he looked up at Pete. "Your turn."

Pete nodded, and flipped the card without hesitation.

 _5 of clubs._ Pete held his expression blank, but he knew they sometimes had lost on five's earlier. He really didn't want to lose.

He combed through his hair with his free hand and stretched out his leg to tap Jack with the toe of his boot. "You're up Boss…"

"It'll be my honor…" Jack grinned mischievously, turning his card around and revealing a red card.

 _3 of hearts._ His jaw tensed and he looked over at Boxer, then at Duncan. "You better not get a high card… Either of you."

"Are the Aces high or low…" Mac questioned in a low voice. Trying to determine Jack's chances.

"Low…" Cooper smiled.

"Well, I'm curious to see what my card reads…" Boxer chuckled, "Ready?"

The guys nodded. He flipped it around.

 _3 of spades._ His face went cold, then he looked over at Jack, "Well, we better hope Dunc gets a worse card, or we're going into a duel…"

Jack nodded, "Dunc?"

Dunc closed his eyes for a second. Opened them. Turned the card around.

 _Queen of diamonds._ A wide smile spread across his face.

"Looks like I'm in the clear…" he announced before picking up the two stacks of cards on the floor, holding them out towards the middle of the circle. "Cards…"

The guys placed the cards back, and Duncan shuffled them thoroughly. Then he divided the stacks in two and handed them to Pete. "Give our seniors one stack each. We don't need to see them going all Wrestle Mania for the duel too…"

Pete chuckled and looked at the two stacks. He handed the one in his right to Boxer and the one in his left to Jack.

"On three…" he instructed as he sat back down. "Pick your card."

Both Jack and Boxer pulled the card from the bottom of their stacks.

Pete smiled, "One. Two. Three!"

The cards were flipped. One black, one red. One heart, one clubs. One showing 10, one showing an Ace.

One whooped with joy, one cussed a lot.

MACGYVER2016MACGYVER2016

"Stand back baby brother…" Coop grinned, placing a protective hand against Mac's chest. "You might want some distance between yourself and the package…"

Mac looked up at Cooper, "Is it really that bad?"

"Might be…" Coop shrugged. "She once sent something in a jar, the cardboard box around it was taped so good that when the tape was cut, the whole thing just seemed to explode."

"What was in it?"

"We never found out…" Cooper grimaced, "But it smelled absolutely freaking horrible. Pete couldn't get the stink out of his hair or beard. He had to shave, all of it. -That man better hope he doesn't lose his hair any time soon…"

Mac smirked and looked over at Jack who was approaching the package, like he was crawling under barbed wire during boot camp. Or crawling low where he was hidden from enemy fire.

Jack had his knife in his right hand as he crawled on his elbows and knees, keeping low.

He reached the package. It was sealed with duct tape, all over. He slid the knife along the tape on the corners, nothing happened. Jack pushed up on his hands, getting the overview of the tape-work on the top.

He laid back down and ran the knife along the split under the tape. Nothing happened.

He dared to push up once again. Dared to lean side to side, scan the split tape along the edges and across the top. He sank back down.

"When is he going to open it?" Mac mused, tilting his head as he studied Jack.

Boxer chuckled, "When he knows it's not going to attack him…"

MACGYVER2016MACGYVER2016

Jack held his breath as he used his knife to gently push the wings of the box out of the way. Nothing happened.

The box was now open. Nothing sprayed out like a volcano of ill smelling goo, nothing crawled out on its own. He let go of the breath he had been holding.

It was a mistake, when he breathed in the foul smell of moldy something-something.

He coughed and sputtered, crawled backwards and covered his mouth and nose with his hand.

"Damn Lea! That there is TOXIC!"

Cooper laughed and walked over, leaning over to look inside the box. He was careful to cover his nose. He let out a short laugh, then backed away.

"The heck are you laughing about you Scandinavian?" Jack shouted between coughing fits.

"Technically I'm American…" Coop grinned as he made it back to the others. "I was even born in California…"

"Well, your family is Scandinavian…" Jack wiped away the moisture the pungent smell had caused to run from his eyes.

"No… Both mom and dad are American citizens… Charlie was too…" Coop shrugged, somewhat teasingly.

"Whatever… What the heck was that thing your grandma sent?"

"Don't know…" Cooper grinned, "It's your job to figure that out, remember?"

Jack shot Cooper a glare as he pushed to his feet and stomped over to the box. He was shielding his mouth and nose by pulling up the lower end of his t-shirt.

"Pancakes?" he shouted through the mask of shirt, it came across muffled.

"Don't think so…" Cooper shrugged, "Grandma's pancakes doesn't look like that…"

"That other thing? The thing your mom served us the last time we tagged along to California?"

"Lapper?" Cooper asked, "No… Wrong size…"

"You see sizes in here? I just see a solid green-grey hairy lump!"

"Can I give up?" Jack pleaded.

"Guess once more!"

"Cake?" Jack asked, "Lemon cake?"

"Not a cake…" Cooper shook his head.

"Well, what do you think it is then?" Jack growled past the fabric of his shirt, "When can I torch it?"

"Might be waffles, right size…" Cooper shrugged.

"Okay, let us all call it waffles then!" Jack bent down and picked up the package, carried it further away from their barrack. He set it down and backed away. "I'm gonna find some gasoline and we're gonna light that stuff on fire!"

Cooper and the others laughed.

"Yeah, let's do that…" Cooper nodded. "If that really is her waffles, you should rather see, smell and taste it when they're fresh. They are delicious then…"

"Looking at that mess, it's hard to believe…" Jack shot out as he passed Cooper. "But I would like to be proven wrong…"

Cooper chuckled lightheartedly…

 **Okay… So… Next chapter is Gib's**

 **Y'all already know her chapter will be amazing! She's amazing. And I love playing around with your guys. (Seriously, if I could somehow crawl into the fanfic world completely, I would. Preferably with your guys, and Jack, Mac, Riley and the rest of the bunch… -But preferably not in the scenes you introduced them to us in. I don't think I could handle that firsthand.)**

 **Gib, I love your writing. Just saying it once more…**

 **And Dlwells51, thank you so much for the help with the previous chapters. I would have sent you this too to read over and correct. But I also wanted to post it as quickly as possible, and I just assume 'everybody' lives in America. I don't know if that's right or not, but…**

 **Okay, I'm rambling…  
Gib, thanks for letting me play around with your guys! Dlwells51, thanks for the help!**

 **Good night!**


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